In the 7 September 2008 edition of this newsletter, I wrote about my frustrations with the ever-escalating expenses of attending national genealogy conferences. The article was written immediately after the 2008 conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, but a similar article could have been written immediately after any of the national conferences in recent years.
I wrote, "My five nights at the Marriott [in Philadelphia] cost me $1,174.55! Was it worth it?" I also wrote about the cost of the conference tickets, the conference hotel's outrageous restaurant prices, parking fees, and the other expenses involved. The four-day conference cost me a total of more than $1,400, not including travel to Philadelphia. I don't feel that I received full value for the money that I spent. I also vowed that:
You can read my earlier article in its entirety at: http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/09/highway-robbery.html.
I am now preparing to attend the 2009 annual Conference in the States of the U.S. National Genealogical Society. This time I do not wish to be burned by high prices. With a bit of advance planning, I believe that I can attend the next conference for about $500 to $800 less expenditure than the last such national conference, even though it is further from home for me.
Of course, part of the savings is a result of lower hotel prices. Raleigh, North Carolina, is a lower-cost city than Philadelphia. For that, I have to thank the conference organizers: "Thank you for picking a city with lower-priced facilities."
Next, I am not staying in the conference hotel for $120 per night plus taxes (probably about $140 total), and I will not pay $43 a day for parking like I did last year. I found a much better price online for a Wyndham hotel located some miles away. The room is cheaper, there is no extra charge for automobile parking, and high-speed Internet access is available free of charge. In fact, it is so much cheaper that I can pay for a rental car with the savings and still have money left over. My total expenses for hotel plus rental car plus parking plus Internet access will be less than the price of staying in the conference hotel.
There are numerous hotels to choose from in Raleigh that are priced lower than the conference hotel. I picked the Wyndham only because it is part of "a deal" I obtained on Travelocity.com. Besides, I like Wyndham hotels, and any time I can stay at one for a bargain price, I am happy to do so.
My selection process divides all hotels into two categories: those within walking distance and those that require an automobile or other travel arrangements. I don't care how far away the hotel is; if it is too far to walk, then it is an automobile ride. Two miles or ten miles makes no difference to me, other than perhaps a bit of inconvenience for the extra amount of time spent in rush hour traffic. I can live with that if the price is low enough.
Raleigh is a bit too far away for me to drive, so I went to Travelocity.com to obtain airline tickets. I could have easily done the same on Expedia, CheapTickets.com, Orbitz, or any of the other travel sites. I found round-trip tickets at a reasonable charge, but the real savings came about when I searched for "package deals" that combine tickets, hotel, and rental car. I was able to purchase airline tickets, five nights accommodations in a Wyndham (a great hotel chain) along with free parking and free Internet access, and five days' use of an Intermediate-sized rental car for $687 total, less than half of what I paid for the last national conference.
Travelocity.com never told me what the individual prices were for the airfare, hotel, and rental car. All I ever saw was the bottom-line price for all three combined. I am happy with the price.
If you would like to save money on your next national conference, I'd suggest that you shop around. My solution worked for me but might not be the best solution for everyone. Not everyone needs airline tickets, and not everyone is comfortable jumping into a rental car in a strange city, even with a GPS. You have to do whatever works for you.
I figure if I don't stay at the conference hotel or within walking distance of the convention center, then I might as well stay miles away and get a rental car. That gives me a lot of flexibility in places to go, and the use of a rental car simplifies the process of going to and from the airport. Besides, suburban hotels are almost always cheaper than the downtown hotels only a few miles away. In this case, the savings in hotel expenses alone more than pays for the rental car.
The conference center is:
500 South Salisbury Street
Raleigh, NC 27601
Raleigh has dozens of hotels to choose from, but be aware that it will be a busy weekend. Three universities in the Raleigh-Durham area are holding graduation exercises the same weekend as the NGS conference. The hotels are expected to become fully booked some weeks in advance of that weekend. I'd suggest reserving a room now in order to avoid frustrations later.
A quick check online shows the following hotels, and I am sure there are many more:
Sheraton Raleigh Hotel (the official conference hotel, within walking distance to the convention center)
Raleigh, NC 27601
http://www.sheraton.com/raleigh
(919) 834-9900
The NGS conference rate is $120 plus tax per night, single/double. Free parking for one car per room.
High speed Internet access is available for an extra fee
Raleigh Clarion Hotel State Capital
Raleigh, NC 27603
http://www.raleighclarion.com
(919) 832-0501
The NGS conference rate is $79 plus tax per night, single/double. Free Internet access and parking. The recently renovated Clarion Hotel State Capital is located a "healthy walk" away: 8 blocks from the Raleigh Convention Center.
Free High Speed Internet access
The Raleigh Marriott City Center is a short walk away but is already sold out.
Days Inn Raleigh Downtown
300 N Dawson St
Raleigh, NC, 27603
http://www.daysinn.com/DaysInn/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=14390&brandInfo=DI
866-539-0036
$67.99 a night plus taxes
Free High Speed Internet access
Holiday Inn Raleigh-Brownstone Downtown
1707 Hillsborough St.
Raleigh, NC, 27605
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hotel/rduhs
$108.59 a night plus taxes
High speed Internet access available for a fee in the rooms but is free in the lobby area
Red Roof Inn Raleigh Downtown - NCSU
1.5 miles according to Google Maps
1813 South Saunders Street
Raleigh, NC, 27603
http://www.redroof.com/reservations/inn_details.asp?num=256
$59.99 a night plus taxes
High-speed Internet access is available for a fee
Milner Hotel - Raleigh
500 S Salisbury St
Raleigh NC 27601-2114
http://www.milner-hotels.com/raleigh/index.html
a budget hotel at $39 a night plus taxes
Internet access is not listed on hotel's web page
Best Western Raleigh North
2715 Capital Blvd
Raleigh, NC, 27604
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/productInfo.do?propertyCode=34146
866-539-0036
$64 a night plus taxes with discounts available for a multi-day stay
Free high-speed Internet access
Restaurants located within walking distance to the hotel include Perkins, Baskin Robbins, Dunkin Donuts, Waffle House, Taco Bell, El Rodeo, and Subway.
Days Inn Raleigh North Beltline
3201 Wake Forest Rd
Raleigh, NC, 27609
http://www.daysinn.com/DaysInn/control/Booking/property_info?propertyId=15365&brandInfo=DI
866-539-0036
$45.01 a night plus taxes
Free High Speed Internet access
Denny's and Bahama Breeze Restaurant located next door
Hyatt Place Raleigh-North
1105 Navaho Dr
Raleigh, NC, 27609
http://raleighnorth.place.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/place/
866-539-0036
$80 to $151 a night plus taxes
Free high speed wireless Internet access
La Quinta Inn and Suites Raleigh Crabtree
2211 Summit Park Ln
Raleigh, NC, 27612
http://www.lq.com/lq/properties/propertyProfile.do?ident=LQ959&propId=959
866-539-0036
$99 a night plus taxes
Free high-speed Internet access
The above is only a sampling of the hotels available; I am sure there are many more. Any online travel site will be able to find many such hotels in Raleigh.
Disclaimers:
- The prices mentioned above were listed on each hotel's web site at the time I checked. However, hotel room prices vary constantly. The above prices may be typical but might be higher or lower when you check. Prices will probably be higher if you procrastinate very long as this will be a busy weekend in Raleigh.
- Discounts may be available for each hotel's frequent guest program as well as for AAA, AARP, or other groups.
- Lowest prices are usually found on each hotel's web site; prices at Hotels.com, Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, etc. tend to be higher. Still, it never hurts to check multiple web sites.
- While Internet access may be listed above as being available for a fee, many hotels will offer the same service free of charge to members of the hotel's frequent guests program.
- Internet access may be available in lobby areas but not always in the rooms. Always check the hotel's web site for details.
I'll see you in Raleigh, and we can all celebrate our money-saving efforts!
